Brandon's Boomerang comes back around

Patrons line up at the bar on a Thursday night at Boomerang Martini Bar. The club has found its place in Brandon as an upscale, classy venue.

One of the downsides of taking over a club with a troubled past is that nearly all press related to the new venture is prefaced with comments about its history. This isn't always a bad thing when it allows club owners to show how much they've turned a particular place around, as is the case with Boomerang Martini Bar in Brandon. The club, notorious for numerous name changes and a tragic shooting in 2007, has been reopened under new ownership as Boomerang for over a year now, and it seems that the club has finally found its place in the Brandon nightlife scene as an upscale, classy venue.

Boomerang is part of the recent wave of bay area clubs opening in an attempt to fill a gap belonging to premium nightclubs like the kind often found in larger metropolitan areas. Rather than focusing on draft beer and rowdy partying, these clubs tend to favor VIP tables, bottle service and cocktails. Boomerang has done well with this concept, a fact evidenced by their packed Friday (Latin Night) and Saturday (Top 40) weekly events.

I wanted to check out something a bit different, so I headed to Boomerang on a Sunday evening for the club's "Noche Mexicana." Inside was pretty close to what I expected — a large, circular dance floor on a sunken level, facing a small stage with a DJ booth, reserved seating areas and plenty of high-top tables around a long bar sitting against the far wall of the club.

What struck me was the enormity of the club itself. The high ceilings were met with backlit scrims stretching all the way to the floor, emphasizing the size of the room. Above the dance floor was a serious lighting rig encircling what may be the largest disco ball ever manufactured. The club was clearly designed for high-volume nights.

The drinks were mixed well, and the bartender was extremely friendly, but I was surprised by the somewhat steep prices. There are no drink specials on Sundays, and the club doesn't stock well liquor, so expect to shell out at least $7 for a cocktail. Boomerang is obviously going for the premium nightclub vibe, as the shelves are stocked with a variety of high-end selections, such as Ciroc vodka and Hennessy Black cognac.

I don't think it's entirely fair to make an assessment of a place based on its improvements over its previous incarnations, but for what it's worth, it looks like Boomerang has plenty to be proud of in that regard.

The vibe: An upscale, "ultra lounge" style club with DJs and live entertainment.

Booze: Beer, wine, liquor. Beer and wine are mostly in the $3-$7 range, while cocktails are a bit more, at $7 and up. There are various 2-for-1 and open bar specials for different events.

Food: Tapas, $7-$10

Specialty: Bottle service is popular here — if you're the type that can stomach the price of partying in the VIP areas, that may be an option. For the rest of us, try one of the club's specialty martinis or a simple cocktail, like a whiskey and ginger.